The village of Mezzocorona is located on the Rotaliana Plain, surrounded on three sides by high rocky walls to protect it from cold winds and comprising the territory between the banks of the rivers Adige and Noce that originally formed it.

It stretches from the village of Lavis in the north to the border with the province of Bolzano, while to the west it is enclosed by the narrow Rocchetta gorge that broadens out into the Valle di Non. To the east, it is closed off by the Adige River and stretches on through the gentle vine-planted hills of San Michele and Faedo.

The name “Rotaliana” appears to derive from some ancient Celtic-Illyrian words.

In ancient times, the line between the Isarco and Adige rivers was the border between the Illyrian tribes coming from the south and the Celts from the north. In these languages, the prefix “ro” corresponds to our preposition “of”, while the term “tal” means “place of duties”.

Thus, the meaning of “Piana Rotaliana” would be “plain of the place where duties are paid”. Another less widely accepted theory is that the term “tal” comes from “Tullia” (coming from “'Tulliassi[SA1] ”), the ancient population of Rhaetian origin that lived on the plain and was mentioned also in the “Tavola Clesiana” (a bronze tablet).

In ancient times, the Noce River, which flows through Valle di Non and Valle di Sole, flowed straight into the Adige River, almost at a right angle, just before San Michele. Together with the frequent flooding of these two rivers, this caused much of the area to remain barren, unhealthy marshland for centuries; as Filos wrote in his history of Mezzolombardo: "giaceva incolto ed era greggivo, pascolivo, cespuglioso e paludoso in balia di tutti” (it was wasteland, used only for herds and pastures, covered in bushes and marshy, at the mercy of all).

It was not until the middle of the last century that the major public works began to embank the Adige River and create the current watercourse of the Noce River by making it flow into the Adige River much further southwards. This allowed for the definitive drainage of the wide flood plain, making it possible to start planting new vineyards.

The land is thus primarily alluvial, with pebbles and gravel, sometimes even mud. Here the vines are grown on pergolas and produce the most important wine of Trentino, called Teroldego.

More than any other, this wine reflects the personality, quality and generosity of the Trentino wine scene.

Its history, indeed legend, blends with those of the ancient castles that watched over the Rotaliana Plain from above: San Gottardo Castle, now in ruins, set into a striking, large cave at the foot of the cliffs of the Mezzocorona Mount; Firmian Castle, in a lower position and still inhabited, and finally, Torre Castle in Mezzolombardo.

Castles and fine wine are indissolubly bound up with one another, forming a fascinating leitmotiv shaped both by the history of the former and the warm language only a glass of wine can express.

Teroldego, while undoubtedly the “king” of the Rotaliana Plain, is not, however, the only wine produced around here. Also worth a mention are Lagrein, currently enjoying a new lease of life, as well as Merlot and Pinot Bianco.